All original written and photographic material on this site is the property of the author, and is not to be used without permission.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

What is Truly Priceless

Diving right into my thought for the moment, let's talk about human life. This morning I saw a tweet from Planned Parenthood praising Obamacare and the ACA for making women's "healthcare" accessible to all. Not only that, but they were emphasizing the "free" aspect. They referred to it as "priceless," which is only somewhat true. Yet, it wasn't the issue of healthcare that stirred something in me, but the question of what was being considered "priceless." The tweet read, "Birth control: $0. Cancer screenings: $0. Well-woman exams: $0. Affordable access to care: priceless."You see, when I think about the main services offered by Planned Parenthood (abortion), the thing that comes to mind (before cancer screening) is human life. Particularly, children. Even more specifically, innocent, defenseless babies. It just seems more than a little contradictory to be praising the care of women as a priceless gift but at the same time to be benefiting financially from the death of children (which includes women). I have never been in a crisis pregnancy situation. I made a choice to not be sexually active until I was a married adult. Therefore, my experience of pregnancy, while full of the natural hardships, was not one surrounded by fear or doubt. However, having witnessed first hand my daughter rapidly growing inside of me and rapidly growing after she was born, I can quickly attest that there is nothing more important to me than her well-being. I can say with 90% accuracy that I would have had a very hard time deciding to give her up for adoption if I had been in a situation where I could not give her the care that she deserves... but I can say with 100% accuracy that if I truly could not care for her - if I couldn't feed, clothe and educate her - than I would absolutely find someone else who could before I could ever kill her. What is priceless is life. Children have their share of burden, of course. No child is easy to care for. Yet, nothing about this life is truly "easy." Whether we have it "made in the shade" or not, we all know that suffering is real. Everyone carries with them some form of heartache. Yet, when we embrace those challenges and work through them, we find ourselves SO MUCH stronger than before. Raising my daughter has completely changed me. I would have said that I was a strong woman before I had her, but I had no idea how much love was really inside of me. Daily, I feed her before I feed myself. I dress her before I dress myself. She gets a bath, I might get a shower. But that is exactly what I want for her. I see her life stretching out in front of her and I want her to live it! It will have its share of sadness and hardship, but it will also be full of beauty and love. That is what every single child deserves, no matter what the circumstances are of his or her conception or the circumstances of his or her parents. So basically, choose life. Choose adoption if that is what is the most loving choice. But do not let the voice of Planned Parenthood tell you that what they offer is priceless... the priceless gift is the little one living inside of you! Caring for that tiny person is the most priceless gift you can give in return.